Study Linkes Irregular Sleep Patterns with Metabolic Disorders

Press release

Wednesday, June 5, 2019

Obesity, diabetes, and hypercholesterolemia are more common in people who sleep irregularly.

A new study found that not following a regular bedtime and waking schedule – and sleeping differently each night – can increase the risks of obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, high blood sugar elevated and other metabolic disorders. In fact, for every hour of variability in bedtime and sleep, a person may have up to a 27% greater chance of suffering from a metabolic abnormality.

The results of the study, funded by the National Institute of Heart, Lung and Blood (NHLBI), belonging to the National Institutes of Health, are published today in the journal Diabetic treatments.

"Many previous studies have shown the link between sleep failure and a higher risk of obesity, diabetes, and other metabolic disorders," said the author of the study. 39, study, Tianyi Huang, Sc.D., epidemiologist of the Channing Division of Network Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Boston. "But we did not know much about the effects of irregular sleep, of the great variability of duration and duration of sleep. Our research shows that, even taking into account the amount of sleep a person has and other lifestyle factors, a night / night difference of one hour at bedtime or the length of sleep multiplies adverse metabolic effects. "

For the present study, researchers followed 2,003 men and women aged 45 to 84 years participating in the multi-ethnic atherosclerosis (MESA) study, funded by the NHLBI. Participants were studied for an average of six years to determine associations between sleep patterns and metabolic abnormalities. To ensure objective measurement of sleep duration and quality, participants wore actigraph wristwatches to monitor sleep schedules for seven consecutive days. They also kept a sleep diary and answered standard questionnaires about sleep patterns and other lifestyle and health related factors. Participants completed the follow-up of actigraphy between 2010 and 2013 and were followed until 2016 and 2017.

"Objective indicators and a large and diverse sample size are the strengths of this study," said Michael Twery, Ph.D., director of NHLBI's National Sleep Disorders Research Center. "As well as the ability of the study to examine not only the current factors, but also to perform a prospective analysis that allowed us to assess whether irregular sleep patterns could be related to future metabolic abnormalities."

The researchers' hypothesis that such associations actually existed was correct. Individuals with more variable bedtime and sleep times had a higher prevalence of metabolic problems, and these associations persisted after adjusting for average sleep duration. This was also the case when they examined participants who developed metabolic disorders during the 6.3 years of follow-up.

The prospective results showed that variations in sleep duration and bedtime preceded the onset of metabolic dysfunction. According to the authors, this provides some evidence to support a causal link between irregular sleep and metabolic dysfunction.

Participants whose sleep duration varied more than one hour were more likely to be African-Americans, work schedules outside of the days, to smoke and to have a longer sleep duration short. They also had higher depressive symptoms, total caloric intake, and sleep apnea index.

The increase in sleep duration or bedtime variability was strongly associated with multiple metabolic and concurrent problems, such as a lower HDL cholesterol and a higher waist circumference, higher blood pressure , total triglycerides and fasting glucose.

"Our findings suggest that maintaining a regular sleep schedule has beneficial metabolic effects," said co-author of the study, Susan Redline, MD, chief physician of the Division of Sleep and Sleep. Circadian disorders of the Brigham and Women's Hospital. "This message could enrich current strategies for the prevention of metabolic diseases, which are aimed primarily at promoting adequate sleep and other healthy lifestyles."

About National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI): NHLBI is the world leader in leading and supporting research on heart, lung and blood diseases and sleep disorders that advances scientific knowledge, improves public health and saves lives. For more information, visit https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH):
The NIH, the country's medical research agency, has 27 institutes and centers and is part of the US Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the lead federal agency that leads and supports basic, clinical and translational medical research. She studies causes, treatments and cures for common and rare diseases. For more information on NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

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